After revealing all to his new wife Stella, she persuaded him to come clean with the police and take his punishment.

In a final on-set interview with ITV, Michie said: "I thought it was a great ending. I thought it was really good that Stella convinced Karl to be the man that she once knew, and that he was to be honest with himself and admit he was wrong and admit that he had killed; to walk out with his hands up and say, 'Alright guy, I did it'.

"He kind of absolved himself, in as much as you can do having been the cause of two people's deaths."

He said: "He's addicted to gambling, he's got a bit of a drinking addiction as well - and he's also addicted to women. Those three things make a wonderful character to play, and I'll really miss getting inside the head of Karl Munro."

The 56-year-old also revealed his favorite scenes involved the dramatic destruction of the pub and the emotional aftermath of the hospital.

He explained: "One of the highlights was when Karl set fire to the Rovers, one of the most iconic pubs in Great Britain, even though it's fictious. I think all the hospital scenes as well, and Karl's duplicity was fabulous to play."

Commenting on Karl's future, Michie teased: "Is it the last we'll see of Karl? I don't think you can ever… I mean he's alive, he's inside, he's doing time. Who knows?"